


On Frail Wings of Freedom and Metal

by StoneWitch



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, Possible Slow burn, Protective Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:14:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23636629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoneWitch/pseuds/StoneWitch
Summary: When the scouts went out before the battle of Trost, they found her, but they had to return before they could ask too many questions. They had to tuck her away so they could deal with Eren. Now it is time for them to find out how she survived titan territory and whether or not she poses a threat to humanity. Problem is, she has a secret and they aren't sure humanity can handle anymore surprises right now.Eventual Levi x OC, but it's complicated and I'm sorry.
Relationships: Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this a few years ago and had it on the other fanfiction site. I've been revamping and heavily editing as it's coming here. I don't know what I'm doing, my brain just exploded with AOT loves and spat this story out.   
> Critiques welcome and actually encouraged - this is an old story but I'm also trying to improve my writing as I rework it.

"I can tell you two things."

The silence greeting her bade her to continue.

"First: she is not another human with titan powers like Eren Yeager. And second: she's been severely abused."

The woman stood with a medical report in her hand and an uncharacteristic frown on her lips. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail with strands framing her tense face, the concern in her brown eyes emphasizing the expression. The papers in her hand detailed her report from an examination performed on a girl that had come through the wall a week ago with Commander Erwin's squad. They had gone out on a mission into the titan infested Wall Maria, but quickly had to turn around when Rose was breached. The girl had been found by Erwin just before he declared the retreat and few questions were asked right away due to the priority of return, as well as saving a civilian.

Of course, once they returned, there was a clustered chaos surrounding the boy who could turn into a titan, and they'd been forced to lock her away almost immediately until Eren could be dealt with, saved from certain death, and brought into their ranks. 

Now that the girl was the new spotlight, they had been ordered to keep her at their headquarters until Captain Levi could determine whether or not she was a threat to humanity's survival due to her survival in titan territory, which was going to prove more difficult with the state of the court's fear from the previous case. Anyone surviving titan territory had to be examined thoroughly upon entry into the walls before they could be integrated into society. Normally, the policy was simply meant to protect the health of the civilian returning from hell, but after Eren’s strange abilities came to light, there was another layer of suspicion set upon the shoulders of such an individual. 

Needless to say, Levi was less than pleased with his work load of late and sat at his desk regarding Hanji with bored, half lidded eyes the shade of steel. He ran a hand through his raven black hair, scratching the buzzed strands in his undercut while trying not to snap at the woman. He was already well aware of the second part of her statement which should have been obvious, therefore annoying him much more than he'd admit.

They'd both been standing over the girl when Hanji pulled the blanket back to reveal her. She'd had a cloth over her chest and pelvis, but the rest of her young body had been on display. Her skin had been deathly pale, while hanging onto a golden sheen that made her glow beneath the harsh light above her. Levi could remember her cheeks darkening in the silence while she grew self conscious. The story written across her skin had locked his jaw tight. Hanji had been unable to stop staring with her mouth hung open catching flies.

The memory of her had been carved into his mind and came to the forefront with his growing annoyance.

Her stomach had been filled with scars speaking of battles; knife wounds, brass knuckles, webbing around her hips that could have been whips, and two scars that were unmistakably from arrows being cut out of her. At some point very recently, someone had even bitten her. Every tooth could be clearly seen in purple ink except the one they were missing on the right side of the jaw. The worst part was that the size of the mark clearly stated it was not a titan souvenir; it was a human's much smaller jaw.

Across her ribcage and chest was a littering of fading brown bruises and an infected stab wound that had begun to ooze red after the clotting and scabs were washed away in her earlier shower. Neither of them missed the distinct shape of fingers which painted her legs and arms in purple or brown, depending on their age. Her legs were sliced up as well, some wounds bleeding while others were scabbed and yet more were thin, pale scars. It was as if she'd been clawed up by a beast out there.

"What on earth happened to you?" an awestruck Hanji had asked.

"It's a long story," the girl had muttered, training her eyes on the ceiling while dark memories flashed behind them.

An irrational spark of fire lit up in him at her response and he knew he had to leave. He had made his escape swiftly, telling Hanji to be quick, thorough, and report back when she was done.

Now she was telling him that she basically had no new information for him, and he gladly informed her of that with a glare. She hurried to continue:

"It wasn't just external wounds, though. There is something hard covering her ribcage that I can't identify without cutting her open. Her left wrist shows signs of a previous break that had not been set properly, leaving the healed bone weak. Her heartbeat is irregular, which can happen to someone when they've been struck hard in the chest multiple times. She has muscle damage in her shoulders that is trying to heal. Her left knee is weaker than her right, and her lower back shows signs of muscle damage mostly healed now, but it is littered in the same lacerations you saw on the front. There are also two thick columns of scarring that run up both sides of her spine. On top of that, she's starving and malnourished-," the woman cut herself off suddenly, collecting her thoughts before stating exactly what he had been starting to think. "Sir I don't understand how she was even physically capable of riding a horse back to the wall, or walking with you to my lab, let alone surviving the constant threat of titans."

Levi took his time repeating the information in his head. He wondered just what kind of hell the girl had to have been living in all this time. The more they learned about her, the harder it was becoming to imagine how she could have survived a threat that seasoned soldiers died to often.

"Where is she now?" he finally asked.

"I took her to the canteen, of course. The girl needed some food."

Levi closed his eyes, frowning. The purple bite mark on the girl's side glared at him from his eyelids. He opened them with a heavy exhale.

"Bring her here. I think it's time to hear her long story," he stated quietly, glaring at the woman when she began to protest. "She can eat in here while we question her, shitty glasses. Now go."

~~~

The girl stumbled into the room wearing a blue medical gown with white flowers on it. She held a half eaten sandwich in one hand, and an apple in the other. Levi didn't miss the shake in those hands or the quiver in her shoulders. Was that fear, or the weakened body?

He looked down at the medical report, clicking his pen a couple times before raising his eyes again. His steel grey met with her cobalt blue as she took a seat in front of him, and when he saw something inside them quiver too, he knew that it was fear. Why did that bother him so much?

Levi shook off the rising fire that threatened to return and began his questions, readying the pen over a yellow note pad beside Hanji's report.

"State your name," he began coldly.

"River Arhynn."

Her voice was still strong, despite her fragile state. Interesting.

"Age?"

"Twenty."

His head snapped up at that and he raised an eyebrow. With her long, dark brown curls tumbling about her shoulders, and the vibrant eyes, large with permanent curiosity behind them, she appeared no older than Eren. Although her cheekbones were high and well defined, she had a rounded jaw that brought in a childish pout to her pink lips.

In his hesitation and analysis, though, her face changed with a flash of irritation. She narrowed her eyes in a defiant glare and locked her jaw, squaring it as it tensed. Then he saw it. Her anger aged her. It was the girl's fear and weakness that brought his doubt.

He moved on with nothing more than a 'tch'.

"Can I safely assume that you're female?"

"You saw me pretty much naked, sir. If that wasn't obvious, I would sure hope your role here doesn't require a lot of attention to detail."

So, she had the intellect for full sentences and sarcasm. All while being as frail as a leaf. Interesting.

"I was slightly distracted," he muttered.

Silence fell for almost a full minute as her wounds screamed at him in his mind. The only sound breaking it was her teeth crunching into the apple. She seemed unaffected by his statement, no emotion given to the acknowledgement of her wounds. He opened his mouth for the next question, but was interrupted by a hard knock on the door. Levi did not miss the way her hand tightened on her fruit and those huge eyes widened a fraction. Suddenly she appeared to be a scared child again. Interesting.

"Enter!"

Commander Erwin entered, immediately intimidating the now fragile girl who watched him with a darkened expression. He was twice Levi's size, and though he had a much more inviting, gentle face, his collected baby blues were constantly running about thirty different plans behind them regarding any possible outcome to every situation he entered, which made a lot of people who noticed this rather uncomfortable. Behind him, Hanji followed as they came to stand beside Levi on either side of his chair. Erwin picked up the medical report in silence. It seemed Levi was the only one to catch the girl's growing discomfort, and he recognised the careful suspicion as a look he saw many times in the Underground. Again, he felt that fire in the pit of his stomach. What the hell did she go through out there?

"Eh, shorty, you weren't supposed to start without us," the woman reprimanded.

"It is not my fault if you can't open that annoying mouth to give useful information like that. I'm not psychic."

To his right, Erwin cleared his throat to stop the oncoming bickering.

"She was supposed to let you know that I was going to participate in the initial questioning. At the same time, you should know that you must have someone with a medical degree present when questioning someone from outside of the wall," he stated smoothly.

Levi frowned and resigned with another 'tch', handing his notepad up to the commander as well.

River watched the whole exchange with that curious gaze, soaking up the personalities and information before her. Levi recognized the analyzing look on her face. She was observant too, he mused, noting that she was growing more calm through their banter. Interesting.

"Now," Erwin drew her attention. "Tell us about your wounds. Who did this to you? You were alone when my team found you."

She chewed her plump lower lip, avoiding the blonde's gaze. Silence hung in the room again, this time it was pure. She'd suddenly lost her appetite for the now bruised, soft apple in her hand.

"Oi," Levi leaned towards her with bored eyes. "We can't let you stay until you tell us everything that happened out there. If you aren't going to talk, you may as well climb back over that wall."

A loud thud hit his desk, causing the girl to jump slightly, dropping her apple to the floor. Beside him, Zoe stared incredulously between the two.

"I always knew you were a cold bastard, but even for you; that was uncalled for," her tone was lethal.

She looked up to the girl and her whole demeanour softened. "We will not let anyone else hurt you if we can stop it, but you have to help us keep that promise. We’re not the ones that make the final decisions. Tell us what happened to you out there, and then we have a better chance to protect you."

River closed her eyes, hanging her head. Levi was beginning to get impatient with all these silences. This one was but a pause before she relented and began her story.

"When wall Maria fell, the titans slaughtered the majority of my village. There was no warning, just one moment my mother was laughing and then next there was only blood. I tried to fight; to save our town, but there was this man that knew I could protect him from the titans . The commotion was perfect for him to take me captive. At first, all I cared about was survival. During the initial excitement, it didn't matter that I had to help him too; I just didn't want to die. But once things grew quiet, the titans seemed to move on, and it was just him and I... everything changed."

A new kind of hush fell over the room. One made up of understanding and respect. Titans were easy. Kill them and don't get killed in the process. Clear cut, simple, and distinct. But humans were complicated and dangerous. Levi found himself clenching his fists against his knees. Beside him, Erwin's pen scratched out her words before furrowing his large brows and finally glancing up.

"Rewind a moment for me. What protected you from the titans? This secret that the man knew about. You could fight titans with it?"

She pulled in a long, quivering breath. Then another, and then she stood up. Her legs shook, but she levelled her eyes on the window behind the trio. Levi was impressed with the resolve in the girl. Her body could barely hold her up, and her nerves were so fried that she could hardly breathe being in a strange place with three people that she probably only heard of in stories. Yet her eyes were as strong as steel.

"I have to show you. It isn't something that I can simply tell you. You'll think I'm crazy."

Clearly she hadn't heard about Eren just yet.

"I do not mean any harm," she assured slowly as she began to back up, raising her hands just as slow.

Anguish washed across her face while beneath the gown, there was movement. It was a very slight rustle of the material that the untrained eye never would have caught. Her lip slipped between her teeth to stop the yelp waiting in her throat as they heard the gown rip behind her. A song of metal sighing and shifting together filled the room as if many blades were moving against one another.


	2. Chapter 2

Two glorious, ebony wings extended and she raised her arms out to the sides, guiding the appendages out. The tips of each curved out an extra few inches, the width of her abdomen once they passed the tips of her fingers.

They were not made of soft bird feathers. They were shining in the afternoon light; each individual feather a sharpened razorblade. They sighed with each movement of metal on metal, and slowly, River allowed her arms to fall to her sides.

In total, she had over a ten-foot wingspan of solid obsidian metal that was dripping in her own blood. After gauging the stillness within the room, she carefully came back to her chair, turning it around so that she straddled it with the back facing the desk in hopes of avoiding bringing damage to it. The appendages naturally curved away from her body and with her now finding herself seated, the final few inches curled lazily against the carpet.

But she was not done with her explanation just yet.

She held her hands out over the desk, palms up. Her gaze lifted to observe the trio in front of her. Levi had stood up during the last few moments, now staring intensely with iron eyes; still half lidded, but not nearly as bored. Erwin wasn't writing anymore and she noted that the pen had found a place on the carpet next to his boot. The woman was the only one who did not seem stunned. In fact, Zoe was grinning from ear to ear.

River breathed deep again and looked down at her hands. There was no effort in calling her power, only a will to direct it. Thin black threads lifted off her palms, intertwining with a pale green one half an inch thick. The lights danced together above her hands, twisting collectively as they swayed into the middle of the desk, forming a ball that pulsed and bulged with the green string's radiance. She glanced up at Levi, locked eyes with him, and held out her hand. An inviting gesture, her gaze pleading for trust.

Levi stood motionless.

"I will not harm you, but I need your help if I am going to prove that. I need to show you what I can do. I promise, it is safe," she whispered, flexing her hand to emphasize her request.

"Do it, Levi," Erwin commanded steadily. He'd begun writing again, having regained his nerve and the tool he'd dropped.

As commanded, Levi placed his hand in hers. Her skin was ice cold, almost stinging his palm. The ball pulsed faster, but remained stationary as she moved her other hand to push the man's sleeve up to his elbow. The desk was sparkling with frost growing across the surface.

The green thread separated itself from its darker companions and began to move steadily towards him. The light skittered back and then came forward, blinking in and out of sight on strange intervals as it swayed almost in a teasing manner. It slid down his middle finger, snaking along his palm while it bulged and retracted as if convulsing. The light brought with it a dusting of frost that spread across his hand.

"It's cold," Levi started, letting out a long, slow breath to steady the fighting nerves that considered this a threat. He continued, "the chill feels like it cuts down directly to the bone, yet it doesn't hurt."

The string reached his wrist, chills shooting straight up his arm as it settled to circle there, chasing itself round and round until finally, it connected its ends and solidified into a shining green metal. The cool temperature slowly slid back from where it had reached his shoulder and pooled around his wrist beneath the strange bracelet that now adorned him.

Anxiety rose in River's eyes as she swallowed a hard lump of fear down. She was shaking again. Her gaze shifted upwards to the baby blue of the blonde in charge.

"Give me an order," she stated in a voice that was much more collected than her gaze would suggest.

"Break the desk and walk to the other side of the room," Erwin didn't even hesitate, taking an immediate assumption of both obedience and the strength her strange power could hold.

She didn't move, only continued to stare at the man for another moment. Then she smiled weakly, and turned to face the excited brown eyes of the woman.

"Give me an order."

Hanji took an extra instant to think, or perhaps relish the moment of brand new discovery. After a few heartbeats, she repeated Erwin's command in vain. The result was the same. Finally, River looked back at Levi. Her lip trembled in the transition, adding to the suspicions that he was beginning to build. Absently, he wondered if the girl would cry. But he knew better than that. She was not the kind of girl to lose that much control.

Except, he also knew exactly where this was leading, which meant that she was indeed that kind of girl after all.

"Give me an o-order." He did not miss the stutter in her voice.

"Do not defend yourself."

He leapt over the desk, shoving the chair – and her – backwards, and landing across her waist when the piece of furniture was discarded to the side. The small knife he'd pulled out from the inside of his boot was pressed against her neck, drawing a bubble of red from her skin. River's eyes dead panned to the ceiling and her arms fell limp beside her. The deadly wings caught up beneath them sliced at her back, his knees, and damaged the carpet. A hot tear slid down into her hair.

Levi watched for any reaction from the girl. There was nothing. No tense muscles, no struggle beneath him, not even a yelp of surprise at least. Behind them, protests rang out from Hanji alone. Erwin did not order him back. He continued.

He drew the blade up, pressing the tip into her cheek. The wound wasn't deep, but it was enough to bleed steadily. She didn't even flinch against the pain. The trail of scarlet screamed at him the way he was beginning to wish she would. The only reaction he could see was the terror galloping in her eyes which remained fixed to the ceiling above.

He narrowed his steel gaze at that fear, refusing to acknowledge the sharp ice driving into his chest with guilt. Blood trickled from her neck and cheek, staining his office carpet.

"Defend yourself," he finally muttered.

The reaction was instantaneous, catching even humanity's strongest off guard.


	3. Chapter 3

Her hand raised to catch the threads that rushed to her, abandoning their dance above the desk and spilling across her beckoning palm. With a solid black glove now shining across her fist, she struck Levi in the ribs. The crack told him a few of them broke as he was launched sideways into the wall. He knew when he landed that his back would be purple by the time he would get a chance to look at the damage, cursing the pain that spiked down into his legs as he forced himself up.

Intentionally slow to ease the excitement of the moment, River sat herself up on the carpet, choosing to remain low so as not to appear as a threat. She didn't want to cause any unnecessary alarm as she watched Levi make his way back to his desk, hiding a limp that favored his left leg.

"Sir," she called out, drawing his attention. He glared down at her, but she continued softly, "I can heal the damage... if you would allow it of me."

He frowned, turning his eyes down to the green metal encircling his wrist. It suddenly felt as if his hand was dunked into a bowl of ice, but the chill wasn't stinging as it should have been. Now it was beginning to warm slowly, frost turning to droplets of water against his skin. River still hadn't moved, but was watching him closely as he examined her gift. Erwin's pen was stilled once again. Hanji held her breath.

"Tch… it doesn’t matter to me."

His bored expression had settled back into place. He turned his eyes up to Erwin with a raised brow to signal they could move on. The superior was frowning at River, though, processing the information of what just happened and waiting to see if she would in fact be able to heal the captain.

River raised her hand, keeping her place on the ground. Her palm began to glow beneath the skin as if it were reflecting light from water. Inside Levi's wrist, warm syrup built up, rising through the length of his arm. This fluid continued through his body, searching out his injuries and gathering around them. He felt his broken ribs move back into place, but there was no pain, not even when the cracks reconnected. It then moved into his back where he made his impact with the wall, spreading the warm, thick fluid out to pool into the forming bruise. His whole body chilled for a moment, and then there was nothing. Levi's expression did not change as he tried to convey what just happened into words, but River smiled knowingly.

"How did this power come to be in the control of your captor? It appears that you have to willingly give it away," Erwin asked, moving on with business as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

"I can't extend my power to cover anyone without connecting it to them directly," she returned to business almost as smoothly.

"How do you take it back?" this came from Levi while he eyed his wrist too.

"I can only remove it during an intimate exchange with the wearer; otherwise it remains until your death."

Erwin made a sound in the back of his throat that could have been a laugh. Levi's lips pulled into a tight line while he shot a steel glare at the metal.

"Let me get this straight: in order to answer our questions and prove your power, you enslaved yourself? Are you retarded?".

"On the contrary. I know that you're questioning me to determine whether I will be a threat to humanity's survival. I could have played the ignorant role of a regular person, but I want to help. Putting my powers into the hands of Humanity's Strongest soldier seemed the only rational conclusion I could come to that would allow me to be honest with you about what I can do without a threat to my life. I can't hurt anyone unless you will it now, and I am certain that you can be trusted much more than a powerful freak that stumbled in here half dead."

He could see that she was scared breathless by this very action that probably did indeed save her life. Levi could remember all too clearly the skyrocketing of threats to Eren's life in the courts before he'd stepped in to take over. This way, they could come before the law and already have all the answers on the table. No commotion. No panic driven conclusions. She was more intelligent than he gave her credit for.

"So this power is how you survived the titans, but you couldn't turn against the ass that enslaved you. Is that basically the story?"

River nodded once.

"Was he the one that caused all those wounds in this report?"

This had come from Erwin.

The girl paused for a moment before shaking her head.

"Not exactly. He did take advantage of the power he had over me, and while many of my scars come from him, some of it was from fighting. There are some people still alive out there between wall Maria and wall Rose. They live nomadically, usually hiding during the day and moving only at night. Many have become monstrous and rabid, attacking anyone that isn't already in their groups. We came across them a few times and usually had to fight our way back out. A lot of the recent scarring came from one of those very groups… he had off, only ordering me to cover his escape. In most circumstances, that wouldn't have been difficult, but this time, one of them got a damn lucky shot in...

"You see, my wings are my greatest weapon because much of my magic requires commands if I've bonded to someone. There's a point on my back that can stop them from emerging for a short time if it's struck hard enough, though, and that was one of the first places I was hit. They overwhelmed me almost immediately. The only reason I got away was because there were titans following the group and once they caught up, well… you know how that works. The chill in my power essentially keeps their attention off me, so I simply hid until it was safe, and then I had to return to the coward that left me to die."

She was beginning to look more confident as she spoke, but the more she shared, the more anger Levi was strangled by. He had to focus on his hands to force them not to clench.

"How did you manage to get away from him?" Hanji inquired with an anxious tone.

River raised her chin with a defiant glow overtaking her glacial eyes.

"I seduced him. And then I killed him once the band was removed."

Her voice was a steel whip, yet there was shame cascading behind her gaze. Levi was certain he was the only one to notice. Hanji wanted to move on quickly from the darkness the conversation had been dunked into and spoke up again much less serious.

"So... to surmise all this: as long as Levi doesn't die or sleep with you, you're pretty much stuck with us whether you like it or not?"

With a frown, River responded, "I mean... I would have put it more eloquently, but yeah, I guess that's about right."

"Great! Oh I just know I'm going to have so much fun exploring your powers! This is incredible! Between you, our two captured titans, and Eren, I have so much to learn. Plus, if we can repeat the whole scene with the orders and maybe a less broken Levi at the court, you'll be just fine! They can't order a death sentence if you don't pose a threat."

Her excitement spilled into River's nerves, settling her tense body for the moment. Curiosity led the crazy scientist to approach her, reaching out towards River's wings. Levi narrowed his eyes as they zeroed in on the cuts down her arms from when he'd pinned her down atop her deadly appendages.

"How do those things go back?" he wondered aloud.

River was surprised. She'd expected that question more from Hanji, who'd inevitably cut her hand on the sharp feathers and was watching with intense, scrutinizing eyes while nursing her wound. The girl stood up quietly, turning her back to the group so they could watch.

The sighing movements of the feathers created a strange melody as they slowly collapsed upon each other, folding layers inward towards her back. They gathered into two columns down each side of her spine, and then shifted into the downward curve of a shovel, proceeding to slice open the skin. They slid beneath the muscles with surprising ease, releasing a small portion of their shape to reach around her ribs like a protective cover over the bones. All of this happened in less than thirty seconds, and now three pairs of eyes watched the flesh in her back knit itself back together with thick, pale tissue to hide the black metal.

All that was left was a webbing of scars down her back and two scarlet trails dripping to the floor.

"Amazing," Hanji muttered in awe.


	4. Chapter 4

Erwin cleared his throat again, drawing everyone's attention.

"The courts gave us three days to assess her and we cannot let any of this be known before then. We have to understand this ourselves before we decide what we’re doing about this. Levi, you will not leave her side under any circumstances, and will keep a detailed log of everything that happens in these next few days. Between you and Zoe, I expect to have a clear and full understanding of her powers by the time we meet before making our case. Dinner should be served in the next twenty minutes; in that time, I will be working on some protocols and rules that I want you to follow while we wait for the court date. We will go into this prepared and without the difficulty our last case presented. Until then, you are dismissed."

With that, he returned Levi's notepad to the desk, keeping the medical report as well as the notes he'd taken, and he was gone.

"Tch. Of course, I get smacked with babysitting duty. As if I didn't already have enough on my hands," Levi muttered.

Hanji was practically vibrating with excitement, grinning at the girl who was beginning to feel her earlier fears settling back into her stomach.

"Oi, why is this thing getting so bloody cold all of a sudden?" Levi held his wrist up with a frown pulling at his lips.

River dropped her eyes to the carpet. "It reacts to my emotions, I'm sorry."

She pulled in a shaking breath, locked her jaw tight, and suddenly his wrist warmed. His frown deepened, but before he could say anything else, Hanji piped up very seriously.

"Hey shorty, don't you go getting any ideas with this girl. If you take advantage of her in any way, I'll put all of your cleaning supplies in a very high place."

He glowered in response. Levi had no intentions of ordering someone around that didn't actually have a choice as to whether or not they could follow his commands. The whole point of authority is having it fueled by the loyalty beneath it. Forced loyalty was not loyalty at all. He wasn't even going to acknowledge the other implications behind 'taking advantage' because that was simply insulting to his humanity.

When Hanji felt satisfied that her point was made, she then continued to inform him, "I hope you don't have anything scheduled after dinner. I'm already drawing up study outlines for you two. We'll meet directly after we've eaten."

She didn't give him a chance to decline as she made her swift exit. The moment the door closed, Levi's wrist froze immediately and unforgiving. He looked down at the green metal, hardly surprised to see the sparkling frost coating his skin. River refused to meet his eyes when he glanced back up.

Resigned, he leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. He let out a very long, annoyed breath.

"Finally, some quiet," he whispered.

River gladly remained silent with the comment. Levi could tell by the periodic warmth on his wrist that she was trying, and failing miserably, to control her emotions. He wasn't quite certain how he could help her with that, but if he didn't want frost bite, he was going to have to at least try to do something to ease her anxiety. Especially considering she'd be spending a lot of time alone with him; he needed her to know that she was safe.

"Listen to me carefully," he stated, leaning forwards and waiting for her vibrant eyes to meet his clouded ones. "You don't know me, so I am going to explain this once. I am no scumbag. I do not abuse my authority as the captain of an elite squad, nor will I abuse the authority I now have over you. I will not make orders of you when you have no choice to follow them. If I do, it will be out of necessity to the situation. That doesn't mean you will be coddled. I will treat you the way that I treat the cadets. You will be given work to do, and I don't tolerate slacking. But, I will not touch you, humiliate you, or hurt you. Do you understand?"

His efforts worked. Hesitantly, the metal bracelet began to grow warm again. Still, he waited for her to respond with her own words before moving on. He watched her intensely, allowing his silence to give her the space to answer. Finally, she nodded.

"Yes, I understand. Thank-you sir."

"Now, keep in mind the study Hanji and I are supposed to conduct with you. Under those circumstances, I will more than likely be commanding you. A promise that I can keep is that I will not make commands without a third-party present. Unless, as I said, you provoke it. Another promise is that I will give you one warning before I do so in that case."

"Yes sir," it was almost immediate this time.

"I need a cup of tea, are you still hungry?" he asked, standing up and coming around the desk.

She nodded once, turning towards the door. Seeing the thick ropes of scarring up her spine through the rips in her gown, Levi stopped in his tracks.

"Tch... It might be a better idea to find you some proper clothes first."

Again, her only response was a nod. The sarcastic, confident woman from minutes ago was now gone again; trapped in the shell of a dried-out leaf.

She followed him quietly down the hall to the laundry room. There were spare linens and clothes in a closet at the back of the room. Of course, being a military base, all that was available for her was a uniform. So, she was given tall brown boots ending above her knee and a white button up shirt that she tucked into the white slacks. Levi even found a recruit jacket with the grey shield and two crossed blades that he told her to keep for her unique chill.

On their way to the canteen, he began feeling the edges of discomfort at her reproach, which was a feeling that he was not used to. Normally, silence was preferred from most people he interacted with. This was no normal situation though, and she wasn't 'most people'.

"I won't be able to keep you busy like a cadet since you're technically not part of the military. Most of their time is spent in training or in classes. You'll most likely be doing a lot of cleaning… there's always something in this place that's filthy," he explained, hoping for even the slightest resemblance of a response.

Still, the silence remained. She made no inquiry about the cadets, or the work she would be sent to do. Just the soft clap of their boots on stone kept them company. He wondered when she would feel comfortable with him, or if she ever would?

"Why was I accepted so easily at face value?" she spoke up finally.

Levi gave her a confused look, prompting an explanation to her inquiry.

"I've hidden my power from everyone I have ever known except my mother. Most people would see the wings and have me executed on the spot or dissected. I'm terrified of what will happen in the court when this is revealed and I'm even tempted to beg you to keep it secret because I am more than certain they will kill me. Yet none of you took any action against me. Not even when I struck you."

Her confession held none of the fear that her words claimed, but he could see it surfacing in the way she clenched her fists at her sides and her voice had trembled, lips frowning deeply. He turned away, staring straight ahead, impressed with the level of intelligence and control she had.

"The others knew that was an appropriate response, considering the knife I had on you. You'd have to be stupid to not fight back. But you've missed out on being our first freak show. We just brought a cadet here that can turn into a titan, and I basically kicked the shit out of him to save his life from the courts that wanted to - as you put it: execute or dissect him. We're not exactly surprised by much right now."

His nonchalant tone pulled a chuckle from River. He found a smirk making its way to his lips, but wiped it off when they entered the canteen. The room was filled with the clattering of dishes, and voices shouting, conversing, or laughing together. Levi did not miss the chill that circled his wrist, and he let out a half annoyed sigh. It quickly pulled back to warmth as she controlled her fear with a falsified iron fist, but he knew what it was like to come from a place where crowds generally meant danger.

He quickly reached out to grasp her elbow, leading her to the left side of the room where Hanji sat at a table in the corner, and motioned for the girl to take a seat. A few moments later, she had a tray of potatoes, a bun, and a pile of hamburger placed down in front of her while Levi seated himself on her other side, sipping a cup of tea.

"Permission to discuss our new addition, sir?" Hanji asked with widened eyes, as if the twenty-minute wait since she left the office had been unbearable without this topic to explore.

Levi narrowed his eyes in suspicion before resigning with a nod. She clapped her hands together with excitement, then pulled out a paper with scribbled questions all over it. River had begun eating already and froze comically at the exchange; her mouth full of potatoes.

Hanji grinned at the girl, which only unnerved her further.

"So, were you born this way?" was the first question.

She swallowed her mouthful and leaned back, furrowing her brows in thought.

"Yes. And I'll answer the obvious following question: my mother is human and my dad isn't the man that she married, so you won't be able to track him down if you try to investigate. I don't have any information on him though. Any time I asked my mother, she would divert the question by telling me her current husband loved me as his own and that should be enough."

Levi's wrist grew hot so quickly, he had to give it a solid shake to make sure the metal wasn't going to blister his skin. Was she angry at her mother keeping her in ignorance, or the absent father? He pondered the question while tucking away the response of the metal in his observations. He quickly decided not to remind Hanji that he had access to the girl's emotional responses. River wasn't going to receive a whole lot of privacy throughout the coming days. It only seemed fair to keep this much to himself as long as it appeared none threatening.

Luckily, the crazy scientist was moving on already as she inquired, "how do you control your wings?"

"How do you control your arms or your legs? Or the function of your lungs? It is natural."

"But how do you tell them to come out or go back? There has to be something that triggers the natural signals."

A loud thud hit the table as Erwin set his tray down, shooting strong disapproval at the group.

"We will not have confidential discussions here," he spoke softly, but with an intensity that wiped the smile off Hanji's face quickly.

River peaked at the other tables once she noticed a hush had taken over and there were eyes now staring as they realized there was a new face at the elite table. Levi shot a glare at the room, effectively forcing everyone to take immediate interest in their food or tables. Beside him, the girl ducked her head down, hiding her face in the curtain of her long curls as she finished eating at a much slower pace. It seemed her appetite had faded, her movements becoming mechanical.

"So, shorty, how do you plan to keep her in your sights at all times during your duties over the next few days?"

This came from Hanji, finding a new focus for discussion that wouldn't get her shot by her superior. Erwin watched him curiously for his answer.

"I thought I'd dump all my responsibilities on you and use the extra time and spare hands for cleaning," he stated smoothly.

River seemed to be the only one to catch his sarcasm as she smirked despite herself. Levi's bored gaze returned and he took a long sip of his tea while the frowns deepened on his comrades.

"I'm kidding," he finally admitted coldly. "I'll just have a damn shadow while I work. Might even be able to put her to use depending on what it is I'm doing. If I have paperwork, she can clean the office. If I'm working with the cadets, she can wash windows or take care of the horses in the stable."

"So what about at night, what will you do with her then? Lock her up in a cell?"

Ice sliced into his wrist for a flash and when he glanced at River, her hand slightly quivered while she guided it down into her lap. He'd never get any sleep keeping her locked up if this was going to be a regular occurrence, not that he slept much anyways.

"If we’re concerned about her sneaking around, then yes we will have to lock her up. But," and he lifted his arm to draw attention to the green band, now crystallized in a layer of ice. "Since this thing's going to piss me off eventually if the kid is scared all the time, I'm not likely to be doing that often."

Now River piped up quietly. "Hang on a minute. You can test this to make sure that I'm telling the truth, but your commands can affect more than my... enhancements. If you command me to fall asleep, I will. Therefore, when you go to sleep, you can put me to sleep as well and no one will need to be burdened by suspicion over me."

She spoke with that strength that masked a very real terror. Levi watched her icy eyes shift as a memory skittered across them and in response his wrist grew wet. He glanced down to find that the metal was producing drops of water directly out of itself. Interesting.

"And if we did that, you wouldn't resent us for it?" Hanji asked.

"I would prefer it over locking me up."

Erwin leaned forward, clasping his hands under his chin. "Why would an enforced sleep, leaving you defenceless and unconscious for hours, be preferred over simple incarceration?"

River stared at her hands, clasped in her lap. The man beside her began to feel a moisture and chill creep all the way up his arm, stretching into his shoulder. It was as if he was sweating in a cool environment, yet the room was warm and no other part of him was affected by this. What was going on in that mind of hers?

"Lock me up if you really want. But if you command my sleep, then I don't have to dream, and if I don't dream then we're all much safer. Just promise me that you'll keep me protected if you use this please."

Levi wondered at the relationship between her fear and her forcing herself to show their group that level of trust. 

Speaking of which...

"Oi, where's my squad anyways?"

Hanji answered him while mirroring his bored, half lidded eyes. "I told them to keep away from us until Erwin made an official decision on who knows what about our girl here."

"And they listened to you?" He found it hard to believe.

"No, they listened to Erwin's letter."

She stood up, handing over the paper from their superior while pointing with her other hand to another table where familiar faces swiftly turned away from his following eyes. She was about to leave, but stopped, turning back briefly.

"When you two are done here, go out to the west of HQ, there's a bundle of trees over there with a clearing just passed them. We can conduct our experiments without prying eyes over there."

As she left, Erwin finished writing something before passing yet another paper across to the shorter man.

"What is this?"

"Procedures I drew up to deal with situations that could arise in the next few days. I expect her to be kept out of sight as much as possible, but came up with a few solutions to foreseeable problems that could arise in the next few days. There will be no confusion, nor commotion until the court meets and we are given further instruction."

Levi scanned over the handwriting, growing weary with the extra work he was going to be dealing with. He was to record everything that she said or did, and if she used her power outside of Hanji's supervised studies, it was to be recorded as well with a reason or cause clearly stated to justify its use. Any commands given were to be recorded as well as her actions afterwards.

Their hands were tied if Levi had to do anything outside the compound; she would have to follow. But without fail, he was to avoid contact between her and anyone that was not Erwin or Hanji as best as he could. All inevitable contact was to be thoroughly recorded.

It was well known that she had come from beyond the wall; news does travel fast within those walls. Should contact be made with her, the shortest answers should be given:

Yes, she's from titan territory. No, she is not special or out of the ordinary. Yes, they are being thorough in their investigation of her intentions for humanity. No, there is no immediate threat. No, she will not be joining the military. Etc.

In the event of a titan attack, Levi was given full authority to make the judgement call on her use and accept responsibility for the consequences after the event.

In the event of a threat to River's life or wellbeing, she is to be allowed the freedom to defend herself only with bare hands – no magic, no wings. Should either be used, Levi is to command her immediate submission and a meeting will be called to include witnesses and Erwin.

In the event of River's betrayal, Levi is to command her immediate submission, and should the matters be severe enough, he is to terminate her life.

The paper continued to outline his responsibilities, and as he read, he became aware of a weight pressing against his side as River leaned close to view how she was to be treated. His frown deepened as he continued further down, reaching the section of her sleeping arrangements. Commands and lock up. Damn, that seemed so cold, even to him. At the very least, he could make a better arrangement around how little he slept.

She also wasn't allowed to train with the cadets, which he'd already suspected and told her, but an addition to that was that he was responsible for training her in hand to hand combat in private. At least with that, he knew that they didn't suspect her of treachery. Erwin would never allow him to teach someone they didn't trust how to fight.

Finally, he folded the papers up, shoving them into his pocket before standing up, looking down into frosted blue eyes.

"Come on, kid, we've got a crazy woman waiting for us in the woods," he muttered in reproach.

"You know, most sane people try to avoid meeting crazy people in woods, sir."

He gave her a very rare chuckle that quieted the whole room.

"Who the hell said anything about me being sane?"


	5. Chapter 5

"First things first," Hanji called from the other side of the clearing as soon as they entered. "Can you fly with those wings of yours?"

River called out an affirmative, which earned a gleeful shout from the other woman. Levi was already wary, knowing he likely wasn't going to leave this clearing without bruises.

"How's about strength, how strong are you without your powers?"

At this, there was a deviant glint in the girl's eye, and she turned to the man beside her.

"Why don't I demonstrate?" she shouted in return while her smile asked Levi for permission.

He had a wild guess at her intentions and for a moment considered shutting it down immediately. They would learn nothing, though, if he wasn't willing to cooperate. Plastering his forced boredom into place, he nodded on a frown.

Her wings were already extending, dripping in blood, while she hooked her arms around Levi's waist, pulling the man close enough for their noses to touch. He didn't realize she was almost the same height as him until now. His jaw locked while he ignored the proximity with effort. He did not return the embrace, keeping his arms to his sides.

"Don't struggle. Trust in me, and you won't be harmed by the blades," she whispered.

And the ground fell from beneath them.

There was a rush of wind that pressed against his back, her chin raised to watch their path over his head, and her arms were secure cages about him. He observed the easy smile on her lips, the way her arms tightened but did not shake, and the unlabored breathing. It was as if he were a child she was holding rather than a full-grown man. Granted, he was much shorter than most, but he certainly was built with enough muscle to make up for it.

Moments later, their feet touched ground again. She stepped away from him immediately, casting her eyes to the ground and dropping her arms to her sides.

Hanji was giddy with the demonstration.

"Excellent! Now, I have to ask since we all know Levi isn't exactly difficult to pick up: would you be able to carry our commander with the same ease?"

"Probably not to the same extent, but I could do it for a short period. This distance, most definitely. With Levi, I could fly for miles, though," her sureness was astounding. Once again, she was the strong woman with confidence on her tongue.

Levi was sure he'd have whiplash from her constant mood swings.

"Alright, with that question satisfied, let's move on." Hanji rubbed her hands together and smiled wickedly. "I have set up three flags throughout the trees behind me. Levi, you will locate the flags. River, you will stay with me. I want to see how precisely his commands can use your magic if he tells you to destroy those flags."

The girl nodded her understanding and without further prompting, Levi wandered into the trees.

"Do you think this will work?" Hanji asked once they were alone.

The girl thought for a moment before nodding slowly. "Not that I have ever had a master that tried it like this, but there have been occasions when I thought I would miss. I have come to trust that once I have an order, my magic hits true."

"How will we know when he has made a command?"

"He already has."

An electric jolt skittered down her arm and she snapped her fingers twice before it released. Four black threads shot from her fingertips, curling about each other to form one thick cord that disappeared into the trees. A moment later, there was swearing and leaves crunching as Levi came out towards them. In his left hand was a green cloth, his right hand was bleeding, and his eyes were storms.

"Uh oh," Zoe muttered.

"Shut up, shitty glasses," he snapped.

"What did I do?" River inquired cautiously.

"Your black shit came directly for my hand before going to the flag. It sliced open my palm."

The girl frowned, reaching out to grasp Levi's wrist out of pure impulse. He tried to jerk back, but her fingers locked like a vice. Warmth spilled into his palm, sewing shut the wound with that same thick syrup. She dropped his arm like it was on fire when she finished.

"What was your order?" came Hanji again, hardly phased by the man's sour mood.

"'Shoot the flag'."

"Was that honestly all you said? Nothing else?"

Silence returned while Levi glared at her. River's mind was racing while she tried to find a logical explanation.

"Can I make a suggestion?" she piped up, waiting for both pairs of eyes to fall on her. "Could we do a range test on my power in respect to his commands? Send him different distances away, and at each distinct distance, he makes the same command. I might have an explanation if this works the way I think it will."

Hanji agreed to the test and set out to mark the field with sticks every two meters until the treeline. Levi started out directly in front of her. Their target was the top of a tree to the left of the clearing. It was bare of leaves, with knotted branches that were easy to pick out in the flourishing green backdrop.

As suspected, by the time he reached six meters, the power's path started to shift. It went into an arc between the two before going towards the tree. Still, it wasn't getting close to him, therefore they continued. At ten, Levi was bleeding again. This time, he shot River a glare to stop her healing power while he pulled out a cloth and wrapped it around the wound.

"So, how do you explain that?" Hanji pondered.

The girl chewed her lip while she chose her words carefully, still trying to interpret her own suspicions.

"I think it follows the shape of our connection as if it is a physical string. When he is near me, the power can move along both simultaneously and rush towards the intended target. But when he is further away, it must move along that connection in order to be launched. The farther he is, the closer it needs to come to him before redirecting."

Hanji was grinning by the time River grew quiet. "That was my hypothesis too!"

"Oi, are you telling me I have to stay by your damn side if I don't want to lose a limb?" Levi glowered.

"Not necessarily," came Hanji's excitement, much to their surprise. "I wonder if there could be a way for you to harness her power with that bond! It would be like passing on a deadly baton."

"How the hell do you think we're going to manage that?"

"With a lot more blood and a lot less attitude, shorty."

River couldn't help the chuckle that snuck away from her in the moment, earning an iron hard scowl that seemed to strangle her. She hung her head down, feeling a familiar ache growing in her chest that reminded her of her creeping loneliness. It didn't matter if it was the man who abused her outside of the walls or Levi and Hanji; at the end of the day, she was isolated by her power. Day one of being attached to someone much safer, and already she could feel the weight of shame settling in on her shoulders. After all: she was not like them and never would be. She was a freak. 

An aching stone grew inside her chest.

She was not going to stand there feeling sorry for herself, though.

If River was to be nothing more than a weapon, so be it. If she could protect innocent lives, what did it matter?

She locked her jaw, forcing that ache deep down to the bottom of her rotten heart. The stone sat there quietly, and when she raised her eyes again, they were glaciers. Levi was studying her in that long moment, wrist wet as the frost droplets melted.

"We'll have to put operation 'transfer of power' on the back burner for now," Hanji interjected, seeming unaware of the strange moment she was taking the spotlight from. "I want to know how much of your physical actions can be controlled without commanding any magic before we end for the day."

The girl nodded her understanding, pulling in a long breath. This part was when things would become frightening.

"Levi, come with me to the other side of the clearing. River, you'll stay here. I don't want you able to hear the commands."

She wrapped her arms around herself as they walked away from her. The pressure lightened as they left, releasing her chest so that she could breathe again. That rock floated up the organ she buried it into, cutting the sides of her heart. She ignored it.

Her arm suddenly raised high, hand waving to the pair across the field. She safely assumed that to be the first command. Then she was jumping. Hands at her sides, landing on the balls of her feet before launching back into the air. She counted; one jump, two, three, four. She leapt seven times. Next, she was running. Turning and bolting into the trees, branches cutting at her cheeks and arms. She was searching, her mind told her. Searching for one of the other flags still hidden in the trees. Her eyes scanned above in the leaves while her legs carried her over fallen branches and through bushes and crunching leaf beds.

There! Off to her right, high up at the end of a branch was a flapping red cloth. She began to climb. No branches were available to her at first, so her fingers dug into the tree bark, splintering into the wood to create hand holds. The branch she had to climb across was too small to hold her weight, she knew this. Could see it. But she had to reach the flag, and before she could fight it, she was crawling out on the splintering branches. Her spine itched as if her wings would save her. She didn't want to hit the ground from this height. Something would surely break.

She was already so broken.

The crack signalled danger, but her fingers were wrapped securely in the fabric. She didn't have the chance to think, only fall. Not even the swiftness of her wings could save her before she hit the earth with a solid thud, her head bouncing off the ground harshly. The metal within vibrated with the impact, her breath rushing from her lungs. Her abdomen lit on fire and she knew that the muscles above her deadly razors had been sliced on the impact. She lay there for a long moment, desperately trying to reclaim oxygen through the weight blocking her lungs, and steady the wild beating of her heart. She was certain something was broken inside. Her skull was throbbing in time with her heartbeat and she could see black spots on the edges of her vision.

Long, deep breaths in, hold it, let it out slow. She forced her chest to rise, reminding it that it was strong enough to push back on the metal encasing it. The pain did not ebb from her head, but the colors danced back into place which was good enough for her.

Finally, she trusted her chest would not collapse and she staggered to her feet. She returned to the field, hiding her limp as best as she could; each step shooting lightning up her legs into her spine.

She raised the flag when she came into the clearing, waving it in the air for the others to see. Hanji clapped with excitement. From that far, she could still feel the intensity of Levi's analyzing eyes. He would realize quickly that she was harmed by that order. Instinct told her to better her façade. Don't let them know.  _ Don’t upset your master _ .

They were coming back across the field, Hanji bolting towards her with a wide, crazy grin.

"Is there any limit to what you can be commanded to do?" she asked in a much calmer tone than would be expected in that moment.

River nodded. "You can't ask me to kill myself. I'll just black out."

"But could you be commanded to kill another person?"

She nodded again solemnly. "That's why I needed to make sure I connected to someone wholly trusted by humanity. I didn't want to be an instrument of destruction when this came out. I want to help people."


	6. Chapter 6

There was silence for their return to the compound. Levi led her back to his office where he pointed to the couch off to the left of the room in a motion that was clearly an order. He then moved to his desk, leaning against it while he watched her lower herself carefully, not missing the way she flinched when she bent.

"Why is it that you healed immediately when your wings were withdrawn, but everything else seems to heal slowly?" he inquired suddenly, surprising her.

River clasped her hands in her lap, narrowing her eyes at one of the wounds on her arm from her flight through the trees before finally meeting his gaze and admitting, "I don't know how to command the healing unless I am using it on another. My body will heal the wounds that the wings make probably due to the same defense mechanism that won't let you command my suicide. Yet I don't know how to make any other wounds or broken bones heal the same way."

"Were you going to tell me that last experiment hurt you, or try to play it off until it went away?" he sounded rather annoyed with her, which seemed strange.

"I didn't think it would matter, sir."

"You are my responsibility. It matters," he stated coolly, turning to cross the room and open a cupboard while he instructed her in the same tone to remove her shirt.

"Sir?"

She couldn't have heard him correctly. Right? Oh, but she had; the order took hold and her hands moved of their own accord, leaving her in only a pale colored bra. Her cheeks instantly lit aflame.

Levi turned with a white medical kit in his hand, raising an eyebrow. "Would you prefer I send you to the crazy scientist to look at your wounds?"

There came no response. She sat rigid, not meeting his eyes and it seemed the man realized exactly what her abused mind would be assuming when she hung her head low. He let out a 'tch' as he came to kneel before her seated form, reaching out to turn her chin back to him. River cast her eyes up to the corner of the ceiling behind him, locking her jaw as if she were preparing herself. Levi was almost insulted that she would still not trust in him. Hadn't he'd made it clear he would not take advantage of her?

"I am not the same as that shit stained pig you're used to," he spat, almost surprised when instead of flinching, the girl's expression hardened.

"Actions speak louder than words," came her acidic response as she leaned close with hard, glacial eyes meeting his steel, "I will believe that when I see it. As it stands right now, I trust no one off hand, bonded or not."

His gaze was drawn to an angry red cut on her cheek when she spoke, his chest tightening with the smallest sting of regret though he would never admit it aloud. He locked his jaw, reminding himself that there was a reason they were in this situation to begin with; he needed to know if there were more wounds caused by him.

"Stand up," Levi ordered.

Her immediate obedience suddenly drew his brows together.

"Was that a command you were forced to follow?"

She nodded, glaring him down as if he'd already betrayed her. Though for betrayal, she'd have to trust him first, but he elected not to bring up this hole in her logic. He could understand the fear and the rage of losing the ability to choose your own path.

"Shit," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose and stepping away. He turned his back to her and sighed with irritation. "Okay, I admit, I didn't realize this thing would be that sensitive."

"It's fine… this is going to be difficult for me, too," she admitted.

"I need to know how badly you're hurt and if you need to be taken back to Hanji. Will you let me do that?" he asked slowly.

The shift in him was strange, going so quickly from ordering her in monotone coldness to now requesting permission with such care. River could see why he was able to lead the Scouts' most elite squad. It takes more than orders to demand the kind of loyalty that creates a strong team like that. She was reminded in that moment why she chose him to connect to in the first place; all of what was left of humanity trusted him, and she needed to as well.

"Yes, you can look at the wounds."

Levi turned back to her then, bored expression and cool eyes in place. Back to business as quick as her answer. He first wanted to assess if there were physical wounds aside from those he'd already seen earlier. Then he would check for internal damage as best as he could.

Her cheek had acquired two more cuts, but they weren't deep. A few more lacerations on her arms. From the front, it didn't look as if the damage he'd watched her trying to hide would be there. Walking a full circle around her, he stopped mid step when he saw her back, sucking in a breath.

"You fell out of the tree for that damned flag."

"Is it that bad?"

The tips of shorter black razors from the part of her wings that covered her shoulder blades and the sides of her spine were poking out through the skin in some places. Dried blood smeared her back, nearly hiding the purple bruising that painted the top half of it in a perfect outline of where those wings hid underneath.

"Scale from one to ten, how much pain are you in right now?" he inquired.

River let out a crazed laugh. "Feels like my back's been lit on fire and the burns were washed in iodine. I'd put it at least to a seven."

Levi shook his head in response considering he was staring at what most would regard as a clear ten. By this point, he'd stopped being surprised at the girl's strength, though and resisted the chuckle that wanted out. This was no joke he was staring at, but he didn't know how to go about fixing it.

"Does this sort of thing happen often?" he pressed. Surely this was not the girl's first tumble, he assumed.

"Falling out of trees? Yes. Falling hard enough to wonder how I'm not dead? That one's new. I think the closest I've come to this was being thrown into a wall when a titan smacked me outta the sky, but I didn't have metal under my skin at the time, so it managed to act as a shield instead for the most part. Still cut my back all to hell, but that's nothing new."

Levi had a sneaking suspicion she's never had her back cut through this deep.

He reached out to brush his fingertips across her shoulder blade, smearing the blood. One of the obsidian razors nicked the side of his finger as it passed, but he hardly noticed. Her hiss of pain was harder to ignore, though.

"You say you can't heal yourself, but you have the control to heal me, correct?"

She nodded once and Levi came around to face her again, his lips pulled down. He offered his hand, at which River looked confused.

"I want you to try using me to complete a circle and bring the power back to yourself."

The woman barked out a hearty laugh, raising an eyebrow from the stoic face before her.

"I don't think it works like that, sir," she explained, chuckling quieter.

He narrowed his steel eyes. "And why the hell not?"

"Because as far as I have ever been able to tell, the bond is one way. I can send my power to you because you basically own it as long as you have that piece of metal on your arm. You can't send it back, though. It's an arc, not a full circle. The only control you have is with your commands."

"What if I commanded you to heal yourself then?"

That caught her up short. Levi's lips twitched to almost reach a smirk when her eyes widened with child-like wonder. Irrational emotions swelled into her chest for a moment before she could stop them. Never had she imagined a master would allow her abilities to be used for her own personal benefit.

"I guess it's worth a shot," she whispered with a smile gracing her lips.

"Pull your blades back in and heal the wounds they created," came the order.

Her scream cracked the air with shards of ice that rained down on them, sparkling frost into Levi's raven hair. Her wings had immediately shifted beneath the skin, sinking those peaking razors back under. He walked behind her again to make sure the magic would obey as well, but set his jaw at the sight. Instead of sealing, the wounds that now gaped open were frothing with blood, spilling down her skin in crimson streams faster now they were unobstructed.

River could feel her legs wobble as the gore spilled, her head growing heavy, and she knew any moment the blood loss would take her consciousness.

"L-Levi…"

Her knees buckled, sending her down on them with harsh thuds that shot white lightning up into her hips. The man was kneeling in front of her a moment later, grasping her forearm with one hand.

"You were right, the power didn't obey, even though the physical action did," he told her, grabbing her chilled hand with his free one.

She had enough energy to let out what should have been a sarcastic chuckle, but it was distorted by her disorientation. A mumble fell out that sounded close to 'I told you so,' but it tumbled so jaggedly, he barely understood.

"River, if our bond creates an arc, then it stands to reason my proximity can bring the end back to you. Do you understand me?" he almost sounded desperate, but she blamed it on her blood loss.

She cast him a glare of ice that told him to get to his point or shut the hell up. Exhaustion seemed pleasant to give into at the moment.

"Focus on my hand," he whispered, pulling her towards him so he could rest her head on his shoulder and move the hand on her arm to her back.

"All this blood is fucking gross," he muttered into her ear, bringing a smirk to her pale lips. "Alright, send that warm shit to the cut in my palm from earlier. Do it slowly. Understood?"

The orders took hold before she could respond, not that she had the energy or coherency to formulate words, anyways. He felt the power drip from the bracelet to his skin, then soak straight down all the way into the bone. Four drops were enough to send it following the shape of his skeleton to reach the opposite arm, spilling into the cut on his palm.

"Don't seal it yet," he was surprised when the order truly stopped the wound from stitching together beneath its makeshift bandage. "Just let it gather in my hand."

As his palm grew warmer, he moved slowly across her back. It could have been a gentle massage if the circumstances had been different. River hissed as he passed over the wounds, breathing heavy while she fought down the pain. Neither of them knew if it was doing any good until with a sudden clarity, Levi realized the bleeding had almost completely stopped. He let out a breath he didn't remember holding.

"Now you can seal it."

As his hand stitched back together, so did the wounds closest to it and directly beneath.

River gave the weakest of smiles, feeling the comfort of black sleep coming for her.

"Thank you," she whispered, barely audible as she let the darkness consume her.

Levi sat there frowning with the unconscious girl in his arms. His hands were stained red, but he was fixated on the black and purple painting across her back. Day one out of three and not only had he almost killed her, but he'd also broken both his promises to her.

That simply would not do.


End file.
